Energy management system for hybrid electric vehicles
First Claim
1. An energy control unit for a hybrid vehicle, the hybrid vehicle including an electric motor operable to provide a source of drive power to the hybrid vehicle, an energy storage unit operatively coupled to the electric motor to provide a first source of energy to the electrical motor, and a prime mover operatively coupled to the electric motor to provide a second source of energy to the electric motor, the energy control unit being operable to control an amount of stored potential energy of the energy storage unit such that an energy level of the hybrid vehicle is maintained substantially at a desired magnitude, the energy level of the hybrid vehicle being a function of at least:
- (i) mechanical kinetic energy of the hybrid vehicle;
(ii) mechanical potential energy of the hybrid vehicle; and
(iii) potential energy of the energy storage unit.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An energy control unit for a hybrid vehicle is operable to control stored energy of an energy storage unit such that the energy level of the hybrid vehicle is maintained substantially at a desired magnitude. The energy level of the hybrid vehicle is a function of at least: (i) mechanical kinetic energy of the hybrid vehicle; (ii) mechanical potential energy of the hybrid vehicle; and (iii) potential energy of the energy storage unit.
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Citations
55 Claims
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1. An energy control unit for a hybrid vehicle, the hybrid vehicle including an electric motor operable to provide a source of drive power to the hybrid vehicle, an energy storage unit operatively coupled to the electric motor to provide a first source of energy to the electrical motor, and a prime mover operatively coupled to the electric motor to provide a second source of energy to the electric motor, the energy control unit being operable to control an amount of stored potential energy of the energy storage unit such that an energy level of the hybrid vehicle is maintained substantially at a desired magnitude, the energy level of the hybrid vehicle being a function of at least:
- (i) mechanical kinetic energy of the hybrid vehicle;
(ii) mechanical potential energy of the hybrid vehicle; and
(iii) potential energy of the energy storage unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
- (i) mechanical kinetic energy of the hybrid vehicle;
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36. A drive system for a hybrid vehicle, comprising:
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an electric motor operable to provide a source of drive power to the hybrid vehicle;
a motor controller operable to provide electrical energy for rotating the electric motor;
an energy storage unit operatively coupled to the motor controller to provide a source of energy to the motor controller;
an prime mover operatively operable to provide a source of rotational energy;
a charging system operable to convert the rotational energy from the prime mover into recharging energy for the energy storage unit; and
an energy control unit operable to control an amount of stored potential energy of the energy storage unit such that an energy level of the hybrid vehicle is maintained substantially at a desired magnitude, the energy level of the hybrid vehicle being a function of at least;
(i) mechanical kinetic energy of the hybrid vehicle;
(ii) mechanical potential energy of the hybrid vehicle; and
(iii) potential energy of the energy storage unit.
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37. An energy control unit for a hybrid vehicle, the hybrid vehicle including (i) an electric motor operable to provide a source of drive power to the hybrid vehicle, (ii) a motor controller operable to provide electrical energy for rotating the electric motor, (iii) an energy storage unit operatively coupled to the motor controller to provide a source of energy to the motor controller, (iv) a prime mover operable to provide a source of rotational energy, and (v) a charging system operable to convert the rotational energy from the prime mover into recharging energy for the energy storage unit, the energy control unit comprising:
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a positioning system operable to receive signals from an external source, the signals containing information concerning longitudinal and latitudinal positions of the hybrid vehicle;
a terrain prediction unit operable to estimate one or more grade angles and lengths of surfaces on which the hybrid vehicle may travel in the future based on the information concerning the longitudinal and latitudinal positions of the hybrid vehicle; and
a monitor operable to estimate a state of energy of the energy storage unit, the energy control unit being operable to cause the charging system to at least one of provide and terminate the recharging power to the electrical energy storage unit as a function of at least one of;
(i) a state of energy from the monitor indicating that the state of energy of the energy storage unit has reached or fallen below a first threshold level, (ii) a state of energy from the monitor indicating that the state of energy of the energy storage unit has reached or exceeded a second threshold level, and (iii) the estimates of grade angles and lengths of the surfaces on which the hybrid vehicle may travel.- View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55)
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Specification